Laziness, obesity and jiujitsu

"Fat people are lazy, aren't they?"

Accustomed to giving lectures on obesity and weight control in various countries around the planet, the scientist Cecilia Lindgren got tired of hearing spectators in the audience question the willpower of fat people.

For the Swedish geneticist, an expert in metabolism and obesity at Oxford University, laziness is far from the reason why humans are getting heavier and heavier. "There is a misconception that these are people who just sit around and stuff themselves," taught Cecilia Lindgren, in an interview with the newspaper El País. "There are always pictures of very fat people eating five hamburgers in snack bars, but the truth is that you only need to eat an excess of one hundred calories a day to gain about 4.5 kilos a year. It doesn't sound like much, but if you do that for a few years, you'll suddenly be in an obese condition."

According to the expert, there are genes that cause a predisposition to gain weight, linked to a lack of satiety and a constant hunger. The main thing, therefore, is to be aware not only of what you are eating, but when you are eating it.

"Foods eaten in the right amount and at the right time are not dangerous," Lindgren opines. "If you put 500 calories of banana on one plate and 500 calories of ice cream on another, the fruit would weigh about five times as much. We shouldn't just count the calories, but the amount of food. If you eat all those bananas, you will be satiated for much longer. If you choose ice cream, an hour later you will feel hungry. In food, weight, fiber content, consistency and other factors matter."

By practicing jiujitsu, the practitioner gains some advantages to face such a problem. Besides the willpower to overcome the compulsion to eat—and to easily choose between a healthy banana and the villainous ice cream, especially a few hours before training—those who practice the art know better than anyone that they need to be light and agile to put up with a fellow practitioner in side control.

In theory, jiujitsu is also vital. Those who train begin to realize, right from the first weeks, the crucial role of planning, preparing, and acting in advance to remedy future problems.

If I don't wash my gi now, I won't have a dry one for later. If I don't buy the açaí and honey, I won't be able to have a healthy snack. If I don't review on video or read what I wrote down about the armbar defense yesterday, today I will have my arm stretched out by that brown-belt in seconds.

Keep the bag of French fries away from your kitchen, keep the clean gi close by, and be happier and healthier.